LAHORE : An accountability court wrote a letter to Lahore High Court (LHC) seeking a period of one year to complete the Ashiana reference.

Judge Amjad Nazeer of the accountability court in his letter to the high court sought extension in the completion period for Ashiana housing scheme reference.

The high court had ordered the accountability court on April 17 this year to complete the trial against former chief minister of Punjab Shehbaz Sharif and other accused in the reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) within a period of three months.The accountability judge in letter to the high court informed that only five witnesses statements have been recorded till now.

He pleaded to the high court for further extension in the trial period of Ashiana reference.

Ashiana Housing Scheme reference

In the NAB reference Shehbaz Sharif, has been accused of misusing his authority to illegally issue directives for cancellation of contract with regard to the housing project in 2014.

In March 2014, the former chief minister visited the Ashiana-e-Iqbal project site and halted its bidding process, according to the reference.

The Punjab Land Development Company (PLDC) was looking after the project, but Mr Sharif after visiting the site decided to assign the project to the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) which resulted in award of contract to the Lahore Casa Developers (JV), causing Rs715m loss to the exchequer, the reference reads.

The NAB had arrested Shehbaz Sharif in the scam on October 5, 2018 inside its Lahore office when he appeared there in response to it’s summon for questioning in connection with a probe into the Saaf Pani Company scam.

According to NAB, “the contract for the housing scheme was won by a construction company titled Chaudhry Latif and Sons but former Punjab chief minister Shehbaz Sharif and his aides awarded the Rs 14 billion contract to Lahore Casa Developers – a proxy group of Paragon City (Pvt) Limited, which is said to be owned by then Railways Minister Saad Rafique”.

ISLAMABAD, SEPT 4- Lieutenant General (retired) Asim Bajwa’s resignation as Prime Minister Imran Khan’s special assistant on information and broadcasting has not been accepted. Prime Minister Khan has asked him to retain his position.

The reasoning for this is that Bajwa did not resign on the basis on allegations that his family had set up 99 companies in four countries, including a pizza franchise with 133 restaurants. He has denied the allegations levelled in the FactFocus story.

Previously, two members of PM Khan’s cabinet–Babar Awan and Azam Swati–resigned after cases were filed against them.

In his statement shared on Twitter, Bajwa said all the adverse insinuations levelled in the news item were “materially false”.

The former military official had replaced Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan as PM Khan’s special assistant on April 27, 2020.

He remained director-general of the ISPR from 2012 to 2016 and served as the commander of Pakistan Army’s southern command before his retirement.

DNA

Beijing, Sep 4  – Week-long China International Trade in Services Fair 2020 (CIFTIS), the largest comprehensive exhibition of global trade in services and the leading exhibition in the field of trade in services in China, began here at National Convention Center.

On the occasion, the Photo Exhibition“Promoting Pakistan Tourism and Culture” was presented online as a subactivity of CIFTIS, Gwadar Pro reported on Friday.

Tourism is one of the important special subjects of CIFTIS. The “World Conference on Tourism Cooperation and Development” would be held during the CIFTIS.

Conference will be hosted by the World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF) and broadcast to more than 200 member units in more than 150 cities in the 75 WTCF countries.

As a subactivity of CIFTIS, Pakistan Culture and Tourism Promotion Exhibition, co-organized by The All Pakistan-China Friendship Association (APCFA) and Beijing People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (BPAFFC), kicked off on Aug 30th.

This collection of photographs was achieved with the collaboration of PakStockPhoto – Pakistan’s first and largest stock image library home to a treasure of high quality images. PakStock Photo’s platform is empowering more than 800 local and international photographers with ages from 18 to 70 years.

This exhibition carries a collection of 85 works of 37 artists from across Pakistan. The photos depict many facets of Pakistan’s beauty and cultural heritage.

According to APCFA: through this exhibition, we aim to bring to our friends in China and around the world the rich experiences of the journey across Pakistan.

It depicts the diverse picturesque landscapes, mountain ranges, flowing rivers, natural beauty, cultural heritage, architectural treasures, urban/rural society, infrastructures, land routes, and way of life of our people.

ISLAMABAD, SEPT 4 – Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) Joint Director Sajid Gondal has gone missing, and his family has lodged a complaint at the Bani Gala police Station, Islamabad, it was learned on Friday.

As per details, the family members said that Sajid Gondal had not returned home since last evening and his vehicle was found parked near Agricultural Research Center Shehzad Town.

Sajid Gondal’s family lodged a complaint with Bani Gala police, who has initiated action on the family’s complaint.

Police said that they found Sajid Gondal’s car near NAR, they have obtained a record of Car data and are examining it from various angles.

ISLAMABAD, SEPT 4 – The National Institute of Health (NIH) Islamabad will train around 400 clinical and hospital management staff working at different hospitals across the Country under its series of training and capacity building workshops.

The NIH Islamabad started to arrange a series of training and capacity building workshops for clinical preparedness and response to COVID-19 all over Pakistan.

The successions of these training of trainers on Clinical/Hospital management in the context of COVID-19 will help healthcare facilities and personnel strengthen their response to COVID-19, and to improve the health care system to “build back better” after the pandemic.

These training workshops are planned to be carried out in all provinces and regions of Pakistan.

The first three training sessions have been started at Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Multan targeting the clinical specialists and hospitals top managements for health service strengthen and support health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

A total number of 15 training workshops will be conducted at Rawalpindi, Multan, Lahore, Quetta, Muzaffarabad, Mirpur, Gilgit, Abbottabad, Swat, Peshawar, Karachi, Hyderabad, and Sukkur, during the month of September 2020.

Around 400 clinical and hospital management staff working at different hospitals in Pakistan will be trained under this initiative.

The Executive Director of the National Institute of Health Professor Major General Aamer Ikram has said that Preparedness is Key to Success. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, NIH conducted a similar series of training for points of entry, all over the country, in December 2019 and they performed well in delaying COVID-19 disease in Pakistan, he added.

He said that these workshops will help the whole country in the establishment of Isolation facilities, diagnostic facilities, RRT deployment, and treatment for COVID-19 patients at the district level, risk communication, infection prevention, and control against COVID-19.  He assured that the NIH will continue its technical support to all institutions for the furtherance of public health objectives in Pakistan.

DNA

FAISALABAD, SEPT 4 – On September 6, 1965, India tried to kill Pakistan at night. September 6, 1965 is the most important day in the history of Pakistan. On September 6, 1965, Indian Army crossed the international board without declaring war and entered in Pakistan.

There is an airport in Jhumra Tehsil of Faisalabad which was used by Pakistan Air Force during 1965 war. Our Shaheens used this airport as an airbase to defend and support ground forces at Lahore and nearest boarders.

Old folks say, Queen Victoria landed on the same airport during her visits to indo-Pak. The runway of this airport was built by hundreds of workers. Baba Abdul Malik, a resident of Jhumra, said that the patriotic spirit of the people of Jhumara Faisalabad was commendable during 1965 Pak-India war. The people of Jhumra Chak given their full support to the Pak Army and worked with them side by side during the war. The people of Chak Jhumra used to cook meal in desi ghee for the soldiers of Pak Army and the morale of Pak Army remained high. The people of Jhumra are proud of the use of Jhumra land in the war.

The most important breakfast was served by Major Aziz Bhatti of Pakistan Army to the Indian Army. Major Aziz Bhatti was then the Company Commander in Barki area of Lahore Sector. He stood like a plywood wall in front of Indian tanks for 5 consecutive days. On September 12, 1965, an indian tank shell hit Major Aziz Bhatti in the chest and was martyred. His fear planted in the heart of India and will remain forever. The Pakistani nation has never forgotten the sacrifices of Major Aziz Bhatti Shaheed.

The Armed Forces of Pakistan and the people of Pakistan fought against the insane enemy with shrouds on their heads, the soldiers of Pakistan tied explosives to their bodies and lay down in front of the tanks, the people sacrificed everything for the defense of the homeland and the nefarious intentions of the Hindus mixed in the dust. The power-hungry thief India came to wipe out Pakistan from the world map but returned with the ugly stain of failure on his chest forever. He may not even be aware that the land that is irrigated with the blood of the martyrs is very fertile and very lush.

September 6, 1965 was not only a Pak-India war but also a great battle between Kufr and Islam which the entire nation came out to face knowing the challenge against it. The bravery and generosity shown by the brave people of Pakistan alongside the Pakistan Army by considering the terror of war as a game is a glorious chapter in our history.

This day is celebrated by the nation every year as Defense Day. Salute to the people who did not turn a blind eye to their duties. Salute to the youth for whom national security was dearer than own lives and property. Salute to the martyrs who got the status of martyrs by tying bombs on their bodies and lying in front of tanks.  DNA

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ISLAMABAD : The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday threw out a writ petition seeking directives for the government to reopen educational institutions that were closed in March to stem the spread of coronavirus.

IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah dismissed the petition after hearing arguments of the petitioner’s lawyer, ruling that this is a policy matter and that the court cannot meddle in executive affairs.

The counsel submitted before the court that his client had approached this court seeking reopening of education institutes, but it directed him to approach relevant forums to have his grievance redressed. He added the petitioner submitted applications to relevant departments in compliance with its order but to no avail.

He complained to the court that the government is not serious about resuming academic activities in the country and requested the court to issue directives for reopening educational institutions.

At this, Justice Minallah observed that this court cannot issue any order on the basis of assumptions. This is improbable that the public interest matter of such immense significance would not be under the executive’s consideration, he remarked.

Earlier today, Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood tweeted that some fake social media accounts in his name are peddling false news claiming that schools will remain shut until Oct.

“Not true. Education ministers meet on 7th to finally decide [on reopening of educational institutions] with likelihood of opening on Sept 15 in a phased manner,” he said.